Sen. Montigny Wants Them to Know It’s Christmas Time [OPINION]

This time of year we hear a Christmas song that highlights the plight of some people in 1980s Africa. Bono asks, "Do They Know It's Christmas Time at All?"

I'm confident that most of the unknown people in Africa that the U2 frontman was singing about are now dead. It is unfortunate that they died after all of the hard work that Bono and his fellow singer-activists put into their cause. They were so close to being saved by that Christmas song.

I find Warren Zevon's song "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" a more practical musical guide for a human crisis.

We have a human rights crisis here in Massachusetts. People, mostly women, and children are daily victims of human trafficking. Most of the victims are bought and sold by sex perverts.

Massachusetts State Senator Mark Montigny has been fighting for years to provide real help for these victims. He has worked the halls of Beacon Hill to send the lawyers, guns, and money that are required to win this human rights battle.

He has delivered the laws that give the Massachusetts Attorney General the legal right to shut down the retail outlets used by organized crime gangs to facilitate human sexual trafficking. Senator Montigny successfully targeted the "bodyworks" loophole with specific legislation.

AG Maura Healey said, “This legislation will allow the state to shut down fronts and illicit actors while helping to legitimize law-abiding healing practitioners. We thank Senator Montigny and the DPL for their efforts to ensure that we have all the tools at our disposal to hold human traffickers accountable.”

Senator Montigny has been successful at helping the victims of human traffickers. But he has only been successful because he has leveraged his significant political capital and the precious time of his staff to accomplish this human rights mission.

Do they know it's Christmas time?

Thanks to Senator Montigny, a few will know.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.